It was a quiet ride, the exact opposite of what Zayn had expected. At intervals, he cast short glances at Rina, wondering what went on in her little head. The dim glow from the street lights washed her face and made her look so vulnerable. She shifted in her seat, and blinked, her long lashes sweeping underneath her eyes.
When he pulled over at her house, he decided he wasn’t going to be going inside. Not tonight. Perhaps, the silence in his car had given him a mental shake, questioning everything he’d done these past few days. Although Zayn enjoyed the thrill he felt, he wasn’t sure what was right and wrong with Rina anymore.
Tonight had made him see that.
It was true that Zayn knew everything was built around the contract, and his need to get a wife on time so Nathan didn’t get a hold of his father’s shares and the subsidiary company, the line was beginning to get blurred. He left the engine running and turned to Rina.
“Congratulations on getting back in the industry.” As much as Zayn didn’t like the feeling he got each time he remembered Rina would be working with Joel, he also knew that this was good for her. She’d been on the lookout for a comeback to the industry, and if he considered it objectively, it was exactly what she’d been on the lookout for.
“Thank you.” The lights from her porch danced in her eyes, their fierceness coming to the surface. “Thank you for dinner. It was such a lovely time away from the chaos of my life.”
“The chaos will soon cease,” Zayn murmured. “You should go in. Get a good night’s rest. You still have a lot to do, but I’m sure you’ve got it covered. But if at any time you need my help, Rina, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. It’s part of the contract.”
“It wasn’t spelled out.”
“It was implied. My wife needs to have my full support.”
Months ago, when Zayn started his search for a wife, that word meant absolutely nothing to him, but a fulfillment of a promise he’d made to his father, and the need to defeat Nathan in his quest for the ownership of the company. He’d gone about it like a perfunctory duty, accepting whatever came his way as long as she had a pretty face and didn’t mind being a divorcee after five years. But now, Zayn wasn’t sure where he stood anymore.
He wasn’t going to bother about what the contractual wife did, as long as she played her role when his father came around and attended public functions with him to maintain the image. He had had it all planned out -separate houses, zero intimacy, sparse communication but now, Zayn feared he wanted all of those things.
But more importantly, he felt he was becoming possessive of Rina. If he could stop, he would have done that a long time ago, before his day started becoming plagued with thoughts of her. But maybe if he took a break and returned, things would have gotten mitigated. And it would stop him from trying to meddle in her career.
“I’ve got this, Zayn.” Rina meant it.
“Contract.”
“Oh! Right!” She stretched her hands to the back seat, where she had tossed it earlier, handing it over to him. “I told him I was going to fax him the signed copy once I go through it again tonight. I hope you’ll be done before morning.”
“I’ll go through it tonight.”
Rina nodded and slung her purse over a shoulder. He watched as she pushed open the door and climbed out of his car, shivering from the chill that hit her even though she had her jacket on. The rain had ceased, leaving in its wake cold that would last through the night.
Zayn got out from behind the wheel, knowing this was probably a stupid decision. It just felt weird leaving her to walk to the door all alone, when he knew how paranoid she got thinking someone had finally discovered where she’d been living.
He stood by the side, waiting as she retrieved her key from her purse and inserted it into the keyhole. But Rina didn’t push the door open. Instead, she leaned on the door and turned to look at him. Zayn could see her breath hitch from the sudden rise of her chest, and how slowly it fell in its place. Her eyes darted to the space behind and then back at him.
She didn’t exactly look into his eyes, satisfying herself with looking above his head. “I should go in,” she breathed, hooking her hand on the handle of the door without turning around. “I have a long day tomorrow. I’m going to the fashion house again. They’re having the big move and… He wants me to be there to start shooting immediately.”
Zayn nodded. “Good luck with that.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
He nudged her to the door but Rina didn’t move. Her feet dragged on the ground, all rationality in her screaming at her to get behind her doors. But getting her feet to listen was the most difficult part.
Zayn smirked and took a step closer to Rina, boxing her in. She held her breath as he leaned in, one hand covering the one she had on the handle. Rina closed her eyes and counted to ten in her head. But before she reached five, the door opened behind her and she stumbled on her footing.
He held her waist with one hand until she got her balance, that smirk still playing on his lips.
“Goodnight. Again.”
Rina whispered a shaky goodnight and walked straight into the house. She was grateful Zayn held the door with a hand because she didn’t know how she would face him if she had to turn to lock it herself.
He called her back suddenly, his voice whipping her head faster than was supposed to be possible.
“I’ll be returning to China tomorrow, and I don’t know how long I’ll be there. It might be a couple of days, a few weeks…We’ll get on with the wedding once I’m back.”
Zayn didn’t stop for a second as he turned around and walked out into the night. Maybe if he had, he would have seen the disappointment on her face.